There’s a hilarious joke I love, about a pet parrot (let’s call him Oscar) that relentlessly taunted it’s owner’s new girlfriend for being “ugly” until she got mad and left him. In this article I narrate my “pimped” version of that joke to illustrate how having critical thinking skills can make anyone – including kids – more discerning, and capable of independent thought. I also offer real life examples of how otherwise good people who are not emancipated thinkers, can be easily misled into doing wrong and/or joining cults, gangs, or even terrorist groups!
Oscar The Parrot Meets His Owner’s New Girl – and Does Not Like Her
Osaro met Caro at a friend’s party, and they instantly hit it off. Compared to Lara, his last girl, Caro did not measure up in the looks department. But she made up for it with her wonderful personality.
One day Osaro invited Caro to his apartment. As she followed him into the living room, his pet parrot, Oscar (who Osaro had just pointed out to Caro), called out in a croaky voice in pidgin english:
“Osaro, but dis your new girl ugly O!”
Translation: “But Osaro, this new girl of yours sure IS ugly!”
On hearing this, Caro was naturally upset, and said to Osaro:
“Did you hear what your parrot said about me? I thought you said he was nice?”
Osaro apologised profusely to her, and told her he would warn the parrot. Walking up to the latter’s cage he hissed at Oscar:
“Next time I hear you make such a stupid remark about her, I’ll deal severely with you”.
2 weeks later, Caro came visiting again. Osaro had just had his bath when she knocked. As he led her past the cage, the wily parrot kept mum.
Having served her a drink, Osaro excused himself to go and finish dressing up for their lunch date.
The parrot waited till it was sure Osaro was out of earshot. Then in a lowered voice it called out to the seated girl:
“Ehn, but no vex O Caro. I neva see person wey ugly reach you enter this house before. Dats why I just no fit help myself.”
Caro did a double take:
“What? This crazy parrot dares to insult me again?” she screamed.
Osaro rushed out from his room saying “Honey, what happened?”
In a tearful voice she told him what the parrot said:
“Look, if you don’t get that crazy bird to stop insulting me, I’ll stop coming to your house!”
Osaro was incensed. Walking up to the cage, he grabbed it and shook it with the rage he felt, till he noticed a few feathers falling out. T hen biting off each word he said:
“You stupid bird. You think because you’ve been with me for years, I can’t get rid of you? Well you’re wrong. This is the last warning I’m going to give you. Keep your opinion to yourself. To me she looks pretty enough. Next time this happens, I won’t stop at shaking the cage, and by time I’m done with you, you’ll regret ever knowing me!”
With that he roughly dropped the cage back on its stand and went out with Caro, who was still sobbing.
Eventually, Oscar’s Big Mouth (or Beak?) Makes Them Break Up
Probably because of her last unpleasant experience, it was well over a month before Caro accepted to visit Osaro at home again.
As the day approached, Osaro made good his promise to sternly warn his parrot to watch its mouth during her visit. Virtually every day he issued reminders and threats of bodily harm to the talkative bird.
By the d-day, the bird looked thoroughly sobered up and subdued, and Osas was confident his planned candlelight dinner at home with Caro would go without any mishaps.
Sure enough, they had a lovely time together. After dinner they watched movies and had drinks, played games on the computer etc.
Too soon (for Osaro at least) it was time to take her home. He made a mental note to reward Oscar for his excellent conduct. Not a sound had come from him since Caro arrived. “Great bird!” he thought to himself, patting the cage fondly as he walked Caro out the door.
Just as they got to the car, Caro said she needed to ease herself. So he gave her the keys and waited as she went back to the apartment.
As Caro walked in alone, Oscar who had been quietly preening himself suddenly straightened up and followed her with his eyes until she shut the toilet door behind her.
Minutes later she walked past his cage and he again stared silently at her. Just as she opened the door to step out, Oscar, unable to pass up the opportunity said (half stammering):
“Pssst…Ehn Caro, bbbuut you yooou you still ugly sha!”
Translation: “Caro, but you’re still quite ugly, you know”!
As you can imagine all hell broke loose that night, with Caro running back to the car screaming blue murder…and telling the completely bewildered Osaro to take her home, and never come near her again.
No one knows what eventually happened to the parrot. Some of Osaro’s Close associates however claim Oscar’s cage disappeared, and that Osaro suddenly developed a strange appetite for roasted chicken…!
But We All Know Parrots Really Don’t Think – At Least Not Like Us
Parrots are known for picking up words from what they hear people say, and randomly repeating them, without application of conscious though.
In otherwords, Oscar the parrot, in our joke above, was an exception to the rule.
Our kids today attend school in a society where many teachers still encourage learners to memorise and regurgitate what they are told verbatim. That’s what our traditional schooling systems demand of learners. As a result, those who excel there are often those gifted in rote learning or memorisation.
The problem is that once kids get used to the idea that they only need to repeat what the teacher tells them in order to excel in school, they’ll naturally dispense with the idea of mastering the more difficult art of thinking.
Sadly, that’s what’s happening in many societies in this 21st century. Children attend schools where they are routinely made to respond to “repeat after me” teachers. Very rarely, if at all, are they encouraged or allowed to intellectually engage their teachers on what they are being taught. This results in the phenomenon of “mindless parrots” that Roberk Kiyosaki wrote about in his international bestseller titled “If You Want to Be Rich & Happy, Don’t Go To School?”
Oscar the parrot demonstrated a capacity for independent thinking, based on an ability to make finer distinctions. Unlike a “normal” parrot, Oscar made intelligent use of its thinking faculties to deduce that the new girl was not as pretty as others who had visited Osaro in the past. And despite threats and warnings, it repeatedly reviewed what it was told against what it observed and kept voicing its contrary view on the matter.
My reason for using this analogy is to show how training a person to think about what they are told, and not just accept it on face value, is important. More so for children. We owe our kids a duty to equip them with the intellectual skills to reject faulty reasoning and logic – a lot of which is flying around in today’s world.
When fanatics and cultists look to recruit followers, they target people lacking in Critical Thinking skills. People that are easily swayed by sentiment and emotion. Who do not have the mental discipline to engage in deep thinking and reflection.
If You Want To Enjoy Peace of Mind, Help Your Child Develop Critical Thinking Skills
As a parent, it goes without saying that you’d like to spend your retirement years watching your kids flourish in their own lives.
You certainly don’t want to be worried about your successful banker son getting arrested for financing or housing a terrorist group because his girlfriend became a member for instance!
But these things can, and do happen. That’s when the parents go on a talk show sharing details of how their child who has been found wanting grew up in a loving home…How he was so quiet and gentle, and would never hurt a fly…etc
The truth is you cannot and will not always be there to help your child think through what others tell her. Be it in school or the society at large.
So, if you don’t want to live in fear of someone hijacking your child’s “mind” and thinking for, and telling her what to do, you need to proactively help her develop a questioning mind, to evaluate what she sees and hears for inherent value – and common sense.
(NB: Apart from cults, and terrorist groups, religion is another place where this problem occurs a lot.)
Once she masters this skill, it will become a shield with which to block any attempts to manipulate her. That mastery will be evident in the way she interacts with you, and others in her personal and work life.
Just as it will give you peace of mind to know she’s competent in that regard, those hunting for weak minded persons to prey on will learn to avoid her as well.
In fact, there’s a good chance that others who desire mental emancipation will learn from her, how to apply critical thinking to succeed better in their daily lives. And that would help to make the world a better place, one person at a time.